


The Incredible True Story and Transformation of the Moon Girl and Her Demigod

by Mokyo



Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25654768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mokyo/pseuds/Mokyo
Summary: Par·a·dise: A place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight.The Moon Cell is anything but Paradise, as Kishinami Hakuno learns upon becoming a Master.Still, even by Moon Cell standards, there is something strange going on, as dreams of a strange Servant plague Hakuno every night as she sleeps.This is the story of a girl from the moon, and a demigod king and their adventures as they navigate the Moon Cell together.
Relationships: Enkidu/Kishinami Hakuno, Gilgamesh | Archer/Kishinami Hakuno, Gilgamesh | Caster/Kishinami Hakuno
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	1. Prologue: Lucidity

The Moon Cell. Other names it’s known as is the **Eye of God, the Divine Automatic, Recording device, and the Holy Grail.**

A supercomputer that has watched the earth since it’s creation, in its records the Moon Cell has information of every possible history of the humans on earth. In fact, the supercomputer has information about what humanity was like before The Great Collapse. 

The moment when the last bit of mana disappeared from earth, thanks a ritual performed in the 1970s in a small town in England, setting off the worldwide mana depletion, causing animals, plants, and humans to die off in massive numbers. With no mana, mages themselves ceased to exist, the world of mages, becoming a fairy tale in the collective unconscious in the year 2030. 

The very same year the Moon Cell was discovered by humanity, those that found it decided to call it the “ **Holy Grail** ” because of its godlike reality changing functions. Shortly after the Moon Cell was discovered, it managed to hack into every single computer on earth, making security, passwords, and privacy useless, as just anyone could hack into anyone's computer, via Moon Cell passageways. To prevent normal humans from reaching the Moon Cell’s core, the Western Conglomerate prohibited any and all space travel.

To determine who is truly worthy of the right to travel through space, and use the Moon Cell’s power, the supercomputer began simulating the Holy Grail War, a relic of mages before The Great Collapse. 

Masters, otherwise called “Spirit Hackers,” who have hacked their way into the Moon Cell, fight among themselves with familiars called Heroic Spirits, fight for control of the Moon Cell. 

Kishinami Hakuno is one of those Masters, participating in a Holy Grail War, in the old school building, Tsukimihara, with her Servant that the Moon Cell assigned to her, the Berserker class Servant, Enkidu. 

However, Hakuno realizes quickly that she isn’t in her shoddy room at Tsukimihara academy. As she stands up, Hakuno’s brown eyes look around this strange place that she’s in. 

She would be in complete darkness, if not for the Spirit Particles lighting the area up just enough to where she can make out a darkened city far off in the distance. 

Just where is she? She’s sure that she hasn’t left the Moon Cell. If she ever went back to earth, she isn’t sure what would await her back in Japan, but she has a feeling that earth wouldn’t be as depressing or dark as this place. 

“Enkidu..?” Hakuno calls out, eyes flashing down at her left hand, taking notes of the three bright red markings on her hand that can only mean one thing: that she’s still contracted to her Servant.

Being that her Command Spells are still there, she’s still inside the Moon Cell then. 

Did she and Enkidu get separated? Hakuno wonders, taking a step forward, only to hear a sloshing sound beneath her feet. 

Water…? Touching her hair, she sighs at the realization that her hair is wet. Which means….

Feeling the front of her school uniform, she confirms her suspicions.

Her clothes are soaked. 

“Enkidu?!” Hakuno calls her Servants True Name again, pushing herself forward through the body of water, her mind racing as she attempts to figure out the situation that she’s in. 

She’s on the Moon Cell still, that much is certain. She’s still contracted to her Servant, and she’s still breathing, which means she hasn’t been deleted. 

That’s a start at least. 

Almost tripping over what Hakuno assumed to be a rock, letting out a curse, as she barely catches herself. 

_Land,_ Hakuno thinking to herself, as her shoes are no longer sloshing around in the water. Turning around, Hakuno can barely make out the body of water that she awoke in. If she had to guess, it looks like a small lake to her, but knowing the Moon Cell, it could be an ocean and she’s just lucky that she landed near the shore, or that she didn’t drown before the current carried her to the shallow water. 

Regardless, she needs to find Enkidu. She could always use a Command Spell, and call them back to her if push comes to shove, but that would be a waste of a Command Spell, in her opinion. Command Spell’s a precious resource, and she would rather save them for the final battle, if she can. 

Looking ahead, Hakuno can make out something not too far ahead of her. 

….A canopy curtain? Upon seeing the color of the curtain, one word comes to mind as she heads towards the golden drapes. 

“Gaudy.” 

Truly, it is. What person would ever for one, own a canopy curtain, two, pick out gold for its color. 

Isn’t that kind of stuff only seen in history books from before The Great Collapse?

Complaints aside, she has to be careful as she approaches this outlandish scene. Enkidu being there would be a good outcome, she can’t deny that, but they could’ve gotten separated on their way out the arena after their battle with the Caster Servant named Alice. 

Which means that there could be enemies lurking about, or worse, Alice’s Master hasn’t been deleted yet, and is looking to kill her, squashing her chances of her ever learning the truth of the Moon Cell’s Holy Grail War. 

Shaking her head, she knows she can’t think like that. She needs to remain at least a little positive. 

At least that’s what she thought before she heard a voice coming from behind the golden curtains. 

“How irritating. Being awoken by you spirit particles making a racket. It is like those birds that dare disturb my rest, before the sun rises.”

That voice is most certainly not Enkidu’s. As she gets closer, she can make out the figure, sitting up in what looks like to be a bed.

….A bedroom? In the middle of nowhere? 

This situation just keeps getting more strange. 

“I sense someone.” The voice hisses, now getting up, albeit slowly, from their bed. 

...That’s a male voice, Hakuno notes.

….And he’s heading straight for her she realizes shortly after, with nowhere for her to hide. 

Damn, this isn’t good. 

Throwing back the curtain, Hakuno gets a good look at the man who chooses to sleep in strange areas. 

His eyes are what caught her attention first. Red like the color of blood, and his hair the same color of those gaudy drapes. 

“No one should be able to trespass here. Is the work of the Moon Cell?” The golden man wonders out loud before his eyes meet what has awoken him. 

A human girl. 

“It would seem the actual cause of the spirit particles excitement is much more boring than I originally thought.” 

Swallowing, Hakuno prepares to stand her ground, maybe if she explains her situation he’ll understand and-

Something hits her chest. Hard.

Coughing, blood spews from her mouth, as she falls to her knees, her eyes watching as a chain is pulled from her chest, returning to its owner. 

“I know not who you are, nor do I care. Begone, and reflect on your insolence in your next life! You are five-hundred years too early to even think about waking me!” 

Kishinami Hakuno’s eyes shoot open, as she sits up in her bed, breathing extremely hard, as she looks around her room.

...She’s back in her room at the school.

Was that all a dream then? The asshole who killed her for no reason?!

Hakuno yawns, before attempting to stretch, but stops as a sharp pain hits her chest. 

Her hand instinctively moves to her chest. It feels extremely bruised.

She needs to go take a look. 

“Ha..Ku...No..” A sleepy voice calls, her name.

Looking beside her, she sees her bed-mate, wrap his arms around her waist, his head pressed against her back. 

“Enkidu…” Hakuno whispers, a sense of relief washes over her, thank goodness he’s still here, “Did you sleep okay?” 

A small noise comes from the Berserker, as he lets go of his Master, sitting upright, he scoots his body next to Hakuno. 

His light green eyes, blink a few times, as if trying to get used to room’s lighting. 

“Sleep…” 

“We went to bed early last night.” Hakuno retorts, smiling at her Servant, attempting to ignore the dull pain in her chest, “We need to get this week started!” 

The being lets out an annoyed growl, with a frown, before he rests his head on Hakuno’s shoulder, the small antlers on his head, digging into her skin slightly.

“I wish it wasn’t so hard for us to communicate…” Hakuno murmurs, as she runs a hand through his long green locks. 

As a Berserker, Enkidu compensates his sanity, for his strength, so he can’t communicate like a normal Servant. Hakuno knows that, and yet she still wishes that she could understand him better than she does, with his grunts and facial expressions. 

Maybe she should get a job as a body language analyst when she returns to earth, she thinks to herself, just she hears as the school bells ring, breaking Hakuno out of her melancholy. 

“ **_Week four of the Holy Grail War begins now. Congratulations on making it this far Masters._ ” **The automated voice begins, causing both Enkidu and Hakuno to tense up. 

“ **_Only sixteen Masters remain. The next combatants will be announced on the second-floor bulletin board. From this moment on, Masters will only have one week to prepare for combat. Good luck.”_ **

The fourth call to battle, the bell signaling the countdown to her victory or defeat. 

“See?” Standing up, Hakuno grabs Enkidu’s hands, “We need to get our week started. How about we take a bath first? Your hair is all tangled.” 

Allowing Hakuno to help them out of bed, Enkidu notices Hakuno’s expression. One of worry. 

Wordlessly, the being hugs Hakuno tightly, earning a muffled squeak from his Master. 

“I know…” Hakuno murmurs, “I killed three people. I killed someone who I thought was my friend. I killed a child. The blood of those people stain my hands and-” 

The being hugs her tighter, making the bruise on her chest rub against him, making her lose her train of thought. 

Maybe that was his goal all along. 

Taking her hand into his own, Enkidu nearly drags Hakuno off to their bath, before Hakuno can protest. 

“Water…” Enkidu points at the faucet a signal for her to get the bathwater running. 

“Okay, okay.” Bending over, Hakuno turns on the warm water, only for her to turn around to Enkidu’s nude form, his dark green tattoos that litter his body, in plain view. 

“You can go ahead and get in, I’ll be right behind you. I’ll wash your hair, Enkidu.” 

Normally the thought of stripping before a man would make her nervous, but Enkidu has never done anything untoward to her. To be honest, she wasn’t sure if he was a man or a woman, until their second week together when she convinced him to take a bath with her. 

Taking off her shirt, Hakuno can finally see what’s causing the pain in her chest. 

It’s a bruise alright. A terrible one at that, all black and blue. It’s the shape of her bruise that is mildly concerning to her.

It’s exactly the same as the end of that weird man's chain that killed her. He must have a dagger attached to the end of that thing.

Asshole, Hakuno thinks to herself.

Just what the hell is going on here? Was her dream truly a dream or-

“Master...hurt?” Enkidu asks walking over, as if to see what’s taking Hakuno so long before his eyes widen at the sight of her bruise. 

Suddenly, the being begins speaking in a language Hakuno has never heard before, Hakuno only being able to make one word that her Servant is repeating over and over. 

“ _Gilgamesh.”_

She’s got to get him to calm down before he destroys their bathroom. 

“Enki, Enki, calm down!” Hakuno pleads, grabbing his arm, “It’s okay, I’m alright. See?” As if to prove her point, Hakuno touches the bruise, trying not to wince at the pain, “I’ll be okay. I probably just hurt myself in my sleep.” 

It’s obvious that he doesn’t believe her, as Enkidu grabs her hand once more, dragging her to the bathtub. 

“Wait, wait! I have to finish undressing!” Hakuno exclaims. It is it her imagination, or is he pouting at her words?

“Let me finish undressing, and I’ll tell you the story of Paradise. Deal?” 

Almost instantly, Enkidu gets into the tub, and sits down, looking at Hakuno expectantly. 

Taking off her skirt, and underwear, Hakuno too, gets into the bathtub, as quickly as possible, as to not keep Enkidu waiting any longer. 

As Hakuno begins to wet Enkidu’s hair, he turns his head to look back at her bruise, before turning back around. 

" _Shabarra.”_ Hakuno can hear Enkidu hiss. 

“Are you getting frustrated with me?” Hakuno questions, grabbing a bottle of shampoo, squirting a bit into her hands, before beginning to work the shampoo into Enkidu’s hair.

“It’s said that whoever controls the Moon Cell, has the ability to reach the planet “Paradise.” Hakuno begins, truly she doesn’t understand why her Servant likes her to recount this fact to him, again, and again, it all started when she was reading a book about theories of the planet to him, on their first night together.

Now he’s in love with the story. 

“Paradise is supposed to be the next planet we as humans move to… But with space travel being restricted that dream has been halted.” 

The Berserker hums in response to Hakuno’s voice, his hand splashing a bit of water between his hands.

“To live among the stars…. I think I would like that.” Hakuno murmurs, using her own hands to begin washing the soap out of Enkidu’s hair.

“But first, we have to win this Grail War, before we can even think about Paradise.” Hakuno states, her hand lingering on Enkidu’s shoulder for a moment, “Let’s finish our bath, and get ready to go see who our next opponent is. We can check in on Rani while we’re at it.”

Maybe, just maybe, this irritating bruise will go away sometime throughout the day while they’re investigating. 

Or she’s going to give the golden asshole a piece of her mind if she ever sees him again. 


	2. Week Four, Day One: Who Am I?

“You know I can’t have you with me in your physical form while we’re outside of our room, Enkidu.” Hakuno reminds the clay being, helping him get his long hair unstuck from the white shirt he’s reluctantly wearing.

Grumbling, Enkidu reaches his hand out, to touch his Masters brunette hair. 

“It’ll be okay,” Hakuno promises, “I have some extra money from our last battle, I’ll buy us something to eat, and we can eat together, once we’re done with our errands for this morning. How’s that?” 

The Berserker hums happily at the prospect of food, and the thought of sharing a meal with his Master.

“But, I need you to go into astral form for me, okay? I promise it won’t be for long.” 

“Those green eyes flicker between her and the wooden floor for a good minute before Hakuno sees Enkidu begin to slowly dematerialize into his astral form, much to Hakuno’s relief. 

“Thank you.” Hakuno whispers, slipping her shoes on, and walking into the hallway, making sure to lock the door behind her. 

Walking down the hallway in order to get to the second floor of the school building, she can’t help but notice that lack of students, standing around in the halls and talking. When the Holy Grail War first began, one-hundred-twenty-eight students, filled these halls, talking and laughing with each other, even if they were all competing for the same thing: The Holy Grail.

Now? With only sixteen students remaining, the school itself is eerily quiet. As if the remaining players have realized how dangerous a game the Holy Grail War is.

She too has had her own realization about her role in this grail war. 

She’s a murderer. She killed her friend Matou Shinji, after all. Even if he was a dick, he was still her friend. 

Her friend that’s no longer alive because of her. She can still hear his screams as he begged not to be killed, that he didn’t want to die. She can still hear his pleas for her to help him, as if it just happened a few minutes ago. 

And the cherry on top is that she didn’t even think about helping him. She just stood there with her Servant, and watched her so-called friend, be deleted. 

Truly, she wonders if she should even be alive right now. As she told Enkidu, she took the life of a child. Alice. Servant or not, she was still just a little girl. All she wanted was a friend, and Enkidu killed her in the worst way possible, ripping out her heart, all the while screaming what she could make out as the word, “Humbaba.” 

Enkidu isn’t a bad person, she knows that. He was just doing his job as a Servant and protecting his Master. She can’t judge him for that. 

As a Master, it falls on _her_ to take responsibility for any action that Enkidu may take. At the end of the day, it’s **her** that ordered Enkidu to engage in combat with Alice. 

Climbing up the second flight of stairs, her mind keeps going back to one question: what is her reason to keep pushing forward?

Her first reaction would be to say “find the truth about the Holy Grail War,” which yes, would be nice, but deep down she realizes, that’s not what’s keeping her going. 

Dan Blackmore, another stain on her blood-red hands, was a soldier. Kind, respectful, knight-like even, and steadfast in his beliefs. He honestly believed that each battle had a purpose, a much deeper meaning to it than simply fighting. 

Her own purpose? To avoid dying. The truth is she just fights to survive. There is no deep philosophical reason as to why she fights. She fights because she has to.

Still, in Dan’s last breath, he urged her to find deeper meaning in her battles. 

Is something like that even lurking somewhere within her, when the only thing that she knows about herself is her name? She can’t remember anything about herself before she contracted with Enkidu. 

Even if her memories return, would she still be the same person as she is now? Will she still have the same drive to survive like she does at this very moment? Will she even want to fight anymore if her memories return? 

Will Enkidu even know who she is? 

Her hand brushes over her chest, as she climbs the last few steps, forgetting about that horrible bruise she woke up with. That is, until her eyes flicker shut at the slight pain, as she approaches the bulletin board.

And that goldie from her dream isn’t making her situation any better either!

Just what is his deal? Why is she hurt in reality, when she was killed in a dream? 

Why is that gaudy man such a dick? 

Shaking her head, Hakuno tries to shake away all the wild thoughts running through her mind. She needs to focus on what’s in front of her. That would be finding the name of her next opponent. 

Her brown eyes scan through the useless announcements for the week, until her eyes settle on her name, and the name of her opponent. 

**Masters: Kishinami Hakuno, Monji Gatou**

**Battlefield: The Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea.**

**Please remember to be on time for your scheduled battle. Masters who are more than five minutes late to their assigned battlefield, will be automatically deleted.**

“Ah! So, it is you that is to be the opponent to this humble servant of God!” 

Turning around Hakuno gets a good look at the voice coming from behind her. Frowning a bit, Hakuno wonders if she is to fight vagabond, what with his jack that’s covering his bare skin, and the strange necklace hanging around his neck. 

“….This cannot be right. For you, as a young person, should have the gaze of someone with determination, not the gaze of a temple monk.” Crossing his arms, the older man furrows his brow.

“Perhaps you are a pilgrim on a journey from your respective god yourself? That would explain the defeated look upon your face.” 

That’s not it at all! Not even close! This man that looks like he spends half of his waking hours in a gym, when he’s not wandering from once place to the next, has her all wrong!

 _At least he has some confidence,_ Hakuno thinks to herself, standing up a bit straighter, as if to intimidate this strange man.

“Well, anyway, I am not a pilgrim, nor am I a fish out of water like yourself!” He tells her proudly, his eyes shining brightly, “I Monji Gatou, am a warrior of God, the highest calling one may ever have in all of space and time!!” 

…..So it would seem that this weird man is indeed her opponent, as she halfway listens to Gatou go on some tangent about his god, and how he can’t possibly lose due to his divine protection.

“It’s my destiny to win,” Gatou explains with a smile. 

If he says so. To be honest, she has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. The only thing clear to Hakuno is, that Monji Gatous is an extremely passionate person. 

“I wish you luck my friend!” Gatou exclaims, slapping Hakuno on the back as he walks away. 

“ _Idiot.”_ Enkidu’s voice rings out inside her mind.

That’s one way to put it. With the reveal of her opponent's name, it would normally be time to start prepping for their upcoming fight.

As Hakuno ducks into an empty classroom to collect her thoughts, something becomes crystal clear to her, as Hakuno shuts the door behind her.

She can’t bring herself to care about Gatou. There are too many thoughts and questions swirling around her mind. 

Who is she? What is she? Why was she chosen to be apart of a Holy Grail War? What is the true nature of the Moon Cell’s Holy Grail War? 

Who is Enkidu? She knows next to nothing about him other than he’s a Berserker, and he’s incredibly strong, and he’s sometimes bratty. She doesn’t even know what heroic tale Enkidu is from. 

Unconsciously, Hakuno brings her hand up to her bruise, checking if it’s still sore, she flinches as her fingertips just barely touch the bruised skin on her chest. 

Which leads her thoughts back to the asshole who likes to stab people for audacity of waking them up from a nap. How does he tie into all of this? Is he a Master? Servant? Why the hell is he choosing to nap in the middle of nowhere on the Moon Cell? 

Too many questions, and not enough answers. 

Suddenly, the sound of Enkidu materializing, snaps Hakuno out of her thoughts. 

Enkidu looks down at Hakuno, his green eyes refusing to look away from her.

“Sad?” He asks, to which Hakuno shakes her head no. 

“Just a lot on my mind.” 

Placing both of his hands on her shoulders, Enkidu leans his face in closer. 

“We’ll win.”

They will.

“I know it’s just-”

“Command Spell,” Enkidu says, taking Hakuno’s hand and holding it.

Damn, that’s right. She forgot all about that, as her eyes flicker to the two remaining Command Spells on her left hand.

The fact that she used a Command Spell to say Rani from elimination.

She was going to check in on Rani. If she’s right, Rani should be resting in the nurse's office. 

“Oh right. We were going to check on Rani, wasn’t we? I almost forgot.” Hakuno admits, at least one of them is keeping her on track.

With Enkidu dematerializing for the second time today, Hakuno heads to the nurse's office, wondering if even going to visit Rani will quell this guilty feeling in her chest, along with the soreness that accompanies it.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Hakuno slides open the door to the nurse's office, mentally preparing herself for what’s about to happen.

Quietly, Hakuno approaches Rani’s bed, pulling back the curtain separating them.

“ _Dead?”_ Enkidu asks.

Truthfully, she almost thought the same thing as Rani wasn’t moving at all. That is, until she sees Rani’s eyes widen open, staring off into the distance, like she here in this nurses office, but her mind is somewhere completely different. 

“R-Rani…” Hakuno greets weakly, “How are you feeling?”

She doesn’t even look Hakuno’s way, instead she begins to speak in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Why did you save me?” Rani asks, her body unmoving, staying in place like a robot.

Hakuno’s eyes widen, as she repeats herself, “Why did you save me, Hakuno?”

What does she mean, “why?”The answer is obvious.

“You were going to die. You and Tohsaka were going to keep fighting until one of you was going to be deleted. I couldn’t just sit there and watch. Any decent human would’ve done the same thing.”

What a lame excuse, Hakuno realizes as the words leave her lips. Saying that she couldn’t let Rin kill Rani when she herself stood by idly while her Servant killed three people.

She’s a hypocrite, she recognizes as she hears Rani laugh bitterly. 

“How selfish of you. Thanks to you, I can no longer carry out my professor's wishes. I no longer have a purpose.”

Hakuno begins to speak, but the words die on her tongue. Rani has always been methodical, like a computer, emotionless even, but the way she sounds so dejected is killing Hakuno.

“What are you?” Rani asks.

At her question, Hakuno almost stops breathing. Talk about hitting her pressure point.

“Hakuno…” 

Swallowing, she can’t help but watch Rani mutter to herself, as if solving an equation, and coming closer to its answer. 

“You took away my one and only reason for existing. To help my professor. With that taken away from me, I have no reason to continue living.”

Hakuno wonders if the real reason she saved Rani, was not to save her life, but to find her own motivation to keep living, as she stares at the ground.

Rani knew the stakes of entering a Holy Grail War, and yet she did it anyway. She had a motive to potentially die. Thanks to her meddling, she’s waltzed in and completely murdered Rani’s motive.

A beep from her computer terminal startles Hakuno enough to snap her out of her own head.

 **The primary cipher key has been generated** , the message read.

Taking that as her cue to leave, Hakuno wordlessly steps away from Rani’s bed, closing the curtain behind her.

Walking past the nearby table, Hakuno spots someone very familiar.

Matou Sakura, the AI who has been her friend since the start of this grail war. 

“Sakura,” Hakuno calls her name, stepping closer to her.

“I’m so happy to see you, Senpai! I heard you’ve advanced again, I’m so relieved! I don’t have any medicine for you today, but I did make lunch for you. I even made enough for you, and your Servant to share! I hope that you’ll enjoy it.”

“Thank you, Sakura. I’ll be sure to eat it right away.”

With a smile, Hakuno leaves the nurses office, that feeling of guilt outweighing the pain from her bruise.

With the primary cipher key being generated, that’s her signal to begin exploring the arena, two obtain the two Triggers for this week. 

As much as she would like to eat the food Sakura made her right away, she needs to begin exploring the first floor of the coliseum before it gets too late.

“You know, the more I look at you, the stupider you get.”

That insult could come from only person, and one person only, Tohsaka Rin.

“Nice to see you too, Rin.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“I’m in a hurry.”

“You’ve somehow managed to erect a barrier, as you try to play dumb for Julius.” Rin says, ignoring Hakuno’s words, “You’re no normal mage! Just who or what are you?! And you better tell me, otherwise, I’ll hunt you down while you’re inside the arena with my Servant!” 

Is she really so different from the other Masters…? 

“….O-Okay, you can stop with the puppy dog look now!” Rin huffs, “Just take this and go.” 

Shoving something in her direction, Hakuno looks down as to what Rin just gave her.

A jeweled pendant…?

“What…?”

“Take that, and go inside the arena where the anomaly was detected,” Rin demands.

What the hell is she talking about? 

“Anomaly? What does that even mean?”

“Anomalies are flaws in the arena. The system that makes seraphs when needed. To dumb it down, you can just think of anomalies as flaws in the firewall. Sometimes data will leak through a firewall, like remnants of defeated players, that kind of thing. We call these things **distortions.** That gem you’re holding has been banned as Formal Wear. It can let you gain ace's to any distortions you may find.” Rin explains, “Distortions can contain all kinds of information. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find something to stop that look on your face.”

“How do I use it?” Hakuno asks, looking back up at Rin.

“You just find a distortion, and the pendant will do the work for you.” 

“Thank you, Rin,” Hakuno says with a bow. 

“Still a softie,” Rin complains with a sigh, walking away before Hakuno can say anything in response.

Right, now to head into the arena. 

“Enemies.” Enkidu hisses, as soon as they step into the arena together.

That’s not good, he must sense Gatou around this area somewhere.

“Let’s avoid them for now, Enki.” Hakuno pleads, “At least until we see what kind of Servant we’re dealing with.” 

With a nod, Enkidu takes the lead. For now, they’re just after a distortion. That’s it. If they can avoid battle with Gatou, that would be the ideal outcome. 

Running behind her Servant, Hakuno watches as Enkidu easily defeats a small enemy, as they turn a corner.

Something begins to vibrate in Hakuno’s hand. The pendent Rin gave her.

The distortion must be in this area somewhere.

As Enkidu heads down a straight path, Hakuno can see it not too far ahead of them. The shining light that would normally be very hard for her to see, if it were not for this pendant. 

“Enkidu, wait.” Hakuno urges, as she steps closer to the shining light, “I think this is what we’re looking for.” 

Reaching out and touching the residual magic, a splitting headache hits Hakuno all at once.

“Master?!” Enkidu quickly catches Hakuno from falling over.

“I-It’s okay.” Hakuno murmurs, as the pain leaves her just as quick as it came, “I think we found what Rin was talking about so let’s get-”

“If it isn’t you! Have you strayed from your path of death and battle?!” A voice that’s unmistakably as Gatou’s exclaims. 

Fuck, they are in the arena, Hakuno realizes as she turns around catching a glimpse of Gatou’s Servant.

….A well to do boy? With his light blond hair, and green eyes, dressed in a white dress shirt, an olive green vest, and a black and gray jacket draped across his shoulders.

Does he want to fight right now?

A low growling sound, comes from Enkidu, but Hakuno puts a hand up to his chest, a plea to not attack. Perhaps if they don’t make the first move, Gatou won’t attack.

A few seconds pass, and the Servant doesn’t move from his Master’s side.

“What is the matter?” Gatou asks his Servant, who doesn’t respond, “I see, you wish to use this place as a training ground for the time being!” Turning his attention back to Hakuno, he gives the female Master a warning. “I have no time to play with you today, child! You can leave.” 

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Hakuno takes this opportunity, grabbing Enkidu’s hand, running out of the arena.

As Hakuno opens the door to her room, she places both Sakura’s lunch box and the pendant Rin gave her on her desk, before practically falling onto her bed, with Enkidu not too far behind her, pulling her close to his person.

Her eyes close almost instantly, as she drifts off to sleep, letting today's worries fade away into the night.


	3. Week Four, Day Two: Are You A Magus, Human, Homunculus, or None of the Above?

Frowning, Hakuno realizes that she’s face to face with those ugly golden curtains from her dream again. 

So, she’s back here…. At least she didn’t awaken in that body of water again, though she can still hear the waves hitting the shoreline in the distance. 

Squinting her eyes, she can vaguely see the blond asshole from before, stirring awake. 

“What is that incessant noise?!” Annoyance present in his voice. 

Part of her mind tells her that she should just run away from this place, and wait until her consciousness decides to wake up.

No, she needs answers from this man. If he’s grumpy because he got woken up from a nap, then- Wait, don’t tell her that he just went right back to sleep after killing her?! He’s been asleep this whole time?!

So he's a jerk, AND he’s lazy on top of that! 

Regardless, her breath hitches as she can make out those eyes of his glaring at her. If looks could kill, she’s sure that should would’ve been killed at least a few dozen times by now. 

Fine! She can glare right back at him. He doesn’t scare her!

Not that much at least.

“For you to show up here again…” He growls, his snake eyes not leaving her, “You must have a poor sense of direction.” 

Does he truly believe that she’s choosing to show up here, and bother him?! 

“You got lucky last time you wandered here, managing to catch a good glimpse of my glory. This time, you won’t have such good luck. You are arrogant enough to wake me not once, but twice! You are unworthy to even look upon me.” He explains, running a hand through his golden hair. 

His glare alone feels like he’s shooting bullets through her. His words are like poison. He’s pissed at her, and she knows it. 

Whatever, he can be pissed, she doesn’t need to see his stupid face to talk with him. 

“I need to talk with you,” Hakuno says, swallowing. Damn, why does her voice sound so shaky? 

“I’m not in the mood for talking.” The arrogant man shoots back, “As you can see, I’m sleepy. So die.” 

“Listen-” 

“I hear nothing!” That same golden portal from before opens by his shoulder, causing Hakuno’s eyes to widen. 

No wizard can do that! She’s never seen a formal wear capable of doing something like that before. 

Taking a step backward, Hakuno looks around looking for a way out of this situation. 

“Die!” 

Before Hakuno has a chance to process what exactly this man is, a very familiar pain hits her shoulder.

* * *

Groaning, Hakuno slowly sits up, looking around her surroundings, realizing that she’s back in her room at the school.

Looking to her right, she sees her bed. Wait, why is she on the floor?! 

Slowly standing up, Hakuno can see her Servant, Enkidu, sprawled out in their bed, the blankets nuzzling his body. 

Did Enkidu accidentally push her out of the bed? Hakuno wonders, touching her left shoulder, where that sleepy asshole hit her, no doubt with the same type of weapon. 

A dull pain courses through her shoulder, down to her hand, she swears even the Command Spells burn, as she winces from the slight pain. Her pain isn’t so bad as to throw her for a loop, like the bruise on her chest, but bad enough to be a mild annoyance. 

She should go take a look at her injury while Enkidu is still asleep. There’s a high chance that he’ll freak out again if he founds out she was hurt while in her sleep. She can always help Enkidu get a bath when they return to their room tonight. 

Staring at her Servant for a moment, she can’t get over just how peaceful he looks when he sleeps. His body cuddling the blankets, his arms open with just enough room for her to crawl back into bed if she wanted to.

But no, she has to resist the urge to go back and get some comfy sleep until the school bell rings. Quietly, Hakuno walks into their private bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She stands still for a few moments, as if to make sure that Enkidu isn’t following. Not hearing any footsteps heading her way, Hakuno takes that as a sign that Enkidu is still fast asleep. 

Turning the water on, she slides off the top part of her uniform glancing at herself in the mirror for a second, while the water gets hot. 

Hakuno takes a look at the bruises on her body. At least the bruise on her chest doesn’t look so bad today, the black and blue is slowly fading. 

The one on her shoulder though…

It doesn’t look as bad as she thought it would, probably because it’s not as a deep black and blue color, like the one on her chest. As her fingertips graze her shoulder, she remembers that her shoulder is just as sore as her chest.

Enkidu won’t be able to see her shoulder her covering it, so that’s a small victory at least, Hakuno thinks to herself, ridding herself of the rest of her clothing, and stepping into the warm bath, her body sliding down into the warm water. 

As her body soaks in the water that feels like a warm hug on a winters day, she can’t help but feel all the worries from yesterday sleeping away, Rani, Rin, Gatou, and Enkidu panicking on her yesterday morning, all gone.

The only thing that lingers in her thoughts is the sleepy golden man. There’s one thing she’s for certain of: he’s not a mage. 

Then that would make him a Heroic Spirit then. His True Name is still a mystery to her, and she doesn’t have time to sit and try to figure his name out among the thousands of other Heroic Spirits. 

She needs to focus on day two of this week. She only has five more days until she fights Gatou, the strange monk-like man, and his equally strange Servant. 

She should work on trying to work out Gatou’s Servants True Name. Aside from his appearance, there’s not much to go on. He wouldn’t speak, so she couldn’t get a lea based on what his voice sounds like…

Well, she can worry about that this evening, today’s mission is trying to find the first half of the key today, or she won’t even be able to fight against Gatou. Her quest to find out more about her past will end abruptly. 

Still, it’s driving her insane that no matter how hard she tries, she can’t remember  _ anything  _ about herself, other than her name and how old she is. 

“Master…?” Hakuno hears a sleepy voice call. 

Either way, she can’t do anything about her lost memories right at this moment, so she just needs to keep pushing forward. 

“One second, Enkidu!” Quickly getting out of the bathtub, Hakuno wraps herself in a towel, just as Enkidu begins to bang on the door. 

As Hakuno opens the door, she’s greeted by her Servant, panting hard, as if he was about to bust down the bathroom door to see her. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Hakuno mummers, reaching out her hand, and touching Enkidu’s cheek, “I’m right here.” 

Those green eyes of the Berserker class Servant, examine Hakuno for a moment. 

“Bath.” 

“I-I just got one. Do you want me to help you get a bath? I can help wash your hair.” 

At that question, Enkidu quickly shakes his head no.

“Hungry.” The Berserker says instead, as if trying to change the subject.

Now that he mentions it, they didn’t eat at all yesterday….

Some food does sound good. 

“We can eat the bento that Sakura made for us for breakfast,” Hakuno suggests, as Enkidu’s eyes light up at that suggestion. 

“I’ve got to get dressed first, and then we can eat. Okay?” 

“You eat too.” Enkidu’s voice barely above a whisper, mutters his face leaning in closer to hers, his forehead touching hers.

“I will, I will!” Hakuno promises, clinging to the towel that’s covering her body with everything in her, hoping that Enkidu can’t see the black and blue mark on her shoulder. 

“Can you sit down for me, while I get dressed? I promise I won’t take long.” 

Satisfied with her response, Enkidu heads back over to their bed, and sits down. 

_ Good,  _ Hakuno thinks to herself, grabbing a clean uniform from a nearby dresser. 

As she slides on the top half of her uniform, she can hear a loud thud coming from behind her. 

Turning around, Hakuno sees Enkidu throwing the last pillow from their bed, onto the hardwood floor, before sitting down on one of the pillows. 

Noticing how impatient her Servant is getting, Hakuno quickly finishes getting dressed before Enkidu has a full-blown temper tantrum, about her audacity of taking too long to feed him. 

“Okay, now let's see here…” Taking the pink bento box from her desk, Hakuno sits next to Enkidu as he attempts to reach for the bento, just as Hakuno holds it just out of reach. 

“I have to check and see if there is anything in here that you won’t eat. You don’t like beef, chicken, or pork, remember?” 

She learned about Enkidu’s picky eating habits the hard way, when she got lunch from the cafeteria, not long after she became contracted with Enkidu. He knocked over her whole tray of food, after he bit into a piece of fried pork, as he was eating some of her curry. 

Crossing his arms, Enkidu watches as his Master pulls out the different compartments of the lunchbox. 

Two rice balls, tamagoyaki, soy sauce eggs, and some grilled salmon. At least he’ll eat everything in this meal. 

Jeez, but this is a lot of food, Hakuno realizes. Sakura really did double up her portion sizes. Not that it’s a bad thing, Sakura can cook very well, so she’s not complaining.

“Enkidu, here, take a bite.” Holding up a rice ball, she watches as Enkidu leans down, taking a big bite. 

“Is it good?” Hakuno asks. 

Honestly, hand-feeding a Servant was something she’d never thought she’d have to do as a Master, but she doesn’t mind. Enkidu can’t use chopsticks after all, and when he does feed himself, he has a tendency to choke, because he eats so fast. By hand feeding him, she can make sure that he’s both fed, and not hurting himself. 

“More!” Enkidu demands, bringing Hakuno’s hand that’s still holding the rice ball up to his mouth, finishing the onigiri in one bite. 

“Hey, wait, don’t eat so fast, it’s not going anywhere!” 

Sometimes she feels more like a mother, than a Master. 

As she goes to take a bite out of her riceball she wonders, what she should do before she heads into the arena today. 

Maybe go ahead and check in on Rani? Granted, Rani did tell her to basically fuck off yesterday.

She’s still worried about her all the same. 

Then she should go see Rin about the pendent she gave her, and why it caused her a headache when she used it. 

That sounds like a plan. 

“Hakuno!” Enkidu calls, pointing at the grilled fish. 

As Hakuno breaks off a piece of the salmon with her chopsticks, the sound of the school bell can be heard ringing throughout her room. 

“ **_ Welcome to day two of the week Masters. Please continue to do your best. Five days remain until you each fight your respective battles. Please make use of your remaining _ **

**_ free time.” _ **

With that, her day can officially begin. All the facilities in the school building should be open now. 

“Let's hurry and finish eating. We need to go see Rani.” Hakuno says, holding up her chopsticks up to Enkidu’s mouth. 

Hopefully, Rani will be more willing to talk today.

* * *

Standing in front of the nurses' office, Hakuno sucks in a breath, as she opens the door, walking to the closed curtains separating Rani from her. 

“It’s Hakuno. I was hoping that I could talk to you today.” 

No response. Alright, she’ll shoot her shot then.

Pulling back the curtains, Hakuno locks eyes with Rani. Unlike yesterday, Rani is sitting up in her bed, however, her eyes are still emotionless. 

Swallowing, Hakuno quietly takes a seat next to her bed. 

“Do you enjoy harassing me?” 

Harassing her? Is that what Rani thinks she’s doing?

“What do you mean? I’m worried about you.”

“You’re worried about a useless tool. Think about that.” Her voice monotone, as she stares at Hakuno, motionless. 

Why would she say that? Homunculus or not, she still has worth. 

“I merely exist to acquire the Holy Grail. As of now, I have failed that task. I’m useless to my professor. The only option for me is to die, and return to the cycle of death and rebirth.” 

Is that really the truth though? She has a hard time believing that someone would raise someone with the sole purpose of retrieving the Holy Grail. 

“Is that really all your professor though you were worth? An item only useful for obtaining the grail?”

Rani’s eyes widen at Hakuno’s words, as if surprised by her question. 

“My professor has done everything for me. He brought me into this world, and taught me everything that I know, and loved me. He wished for the Holy Grail, so I must bring him the grail.” 

Fair enough, but one question plagues Hakuno’s mind, “What would you wish for, if you obtained the Holy Grail, Rani?”

“That’s none of your business, Kishinami!” Rani spits back, closing her eyes. 

“Please leave. Don’t you dare come back either.” Rani warns. 

Alright, so she’ll just try to talk to her tomorrow then. It’s obvious she pissed Rani off with her questions. If Rani would just let her be her friend, Hakuno believes that she can truly help her. 

As Hakuno closes the curtain behind her, she spots Sakura sitting in her usual spot. 

“Ah, Hakuno! I thought I heard your voice.” 

Shit, she forgot to bring that bento box with her. She’ll have to bring it by tomorrow. 

“Did you already eat the lunch I made you?” Sakura asks, her eyes staring up at Hakuno.

“It was really good. My Servant enjoyed it too. I forgot to bring back your lunchbox though...” 

“Don’t worry about it! I’m just happy that you enjoyed what I made for you! I wish I could make you another one, but the rules state that I can’t make you but one lunch per week.”

“I understand. Thank you Sakura, I really enjoyed it.” 

“Mm. Please win so that I can make you more food~!” Sakura says happily, as Hakuno leaves the nurses office, closing the door behind her. 

As Hakuno heads down the hallway, she remembers the pendant around her neck. 

Right. She needs to go talk to Tohsaka. 

“ _ Rooftop?”  _ Enkidu’s voice rings out. 

Yeah, if she remembers correctly, Rin should be hanging out in her usual spot on the rooftop, on the third floor. Better head that way then. 

Sure enough, Tohsaka Rin is standing at her usual spot, overlooking the entrance to the school. 

“Did you manage to find the anomalies?” Rin asks, upon seeing Hakuno’s face as she turns around. 

“Yeah, I found them. When I touched them, it gave me a headache.” 

“Just a headache?” Rin asks. 

“Just” a headache? It’s like she was expecting that pendent to kill her or something. 

“I mean, I  _ did  _ expect you to suffer sickness, but I didn’t expect you to just suffer from a headache,” Rin admits. 

Oh, so she did anticipate that the pendent would kill her. Good to know. 

“The pendant I gave you absorbs magic energy. To be honest, accessing those distortions puts an insane amount of stress on the body and brain.”

“Stress on the body and brain?” 

“That’s right. The stress would be enough to kill you if there wasn’t a magic circuit present.” 

Hakuno’s heart almost stops beating at her words. Wait, wait, wait! Did she just fall for Rin’s trap that easily?! What is she playing at here?!

But, she’s still alive after accessing the distortions….. She understand what Rin is trying to say here. 

“In short, you aren’t a magus. In fact, if I was to bet, I would say that you aren’t even a human being.” Rin states simply, shrugging. 

“W-What?” 

Did she hear her right? There’s no way…

“You aren’t human! Or maybe you’re a homunculus like Rani, who knows. I’m not sure what you are to be quite honest. Can you really not remember how you arrived in the Moon Cell?”

“I don’t know. Truly. All I know is this dream I keep having and-”

“A  ** dream ** ? In the Moon Cell? Hakuno, there absolutely no difference between the Moon Cell, and a dream! You make no sense sometimes. You really are a mystery.” 

With that final statement, Rin turns around and leaves, leaving Hakuno alone. 

So, she’s not a real magus? She might not even be human? 

She may be ordinary, but she’s sure she’s human. 

“ _ Master…”  _ Enkidu’s voice whispers, as if trying to comfort her.

“It’s okay,” Hakuno says, shaking her head. “Let’s head to the arena. We still need to find the first trigger.” 

Or she won’t get to find out the truth about her existence at all.

The sound of Enkidu materializing can be heard as soon as she steps foot into the arena. 

Her eyes flicker to her Servant, those antlers of his growing slightly, as Enkidu waits for her to lead the way this time. 

Shaking off Tohsaka’s words, Hakuno steps forward, with Enkidu right behind her. 

“Enemies,” Enkidu warns, as they move further into the arena. 

“Please get them.” Hakuno pleas, as she pulls up the map of the area, as Enkidu lunges forward, chains appearing, and wrapping around the enemy program. 

So, the trigger should be up ahead. 

“Good job!” Hakuno cheers her Servant on, as the enemy program dematerializes. 

“This way, Enkidu!” Hakuno calls, as Enkidu runs back to her side. 

As they turn a corner, she spots the green item box. This must be it. 

Touching the item box, it opens, and a card floats in the middle. 

This must be the trigger, Hakuno thinks to herself, reaching in and grabbing the card, as Enkidu makes a humming sound. 

Examining the card, Hakuno reads the small print on it, “ ** Obtained: Trigger Code Eta, congratulations.”  **

The first trigger found! Now to head back for the day. 

“You ready to go back home, Enkidu?” Hakuno asks, to which Enkidu nods his head yes.

Sounds like a plan then.

By the time, she returns to her room, it’s nighttime. 

Without warning, Enkidu grabs Hakuno, and takes her to their bed, with him crawling in after. 

Before she can protest, his arms are already around her, his eyes closing. 

She can’t deny how nice it feels when he holds her like this. She can feel her worries slipping away. The words Rin spoke all but gone, as she finds herself closing her eyes. 

She can worry about her humanity in the morning, she decides, as she scoots her body closer to Enkidu’s. 


End file.
